Day And Night
by wildfirexpassion
Summary: The long-awaited Sepper STORY. Sam and Pepper realise they have more in common than they thought, but when Sam is whisked off to San Francisco, what will happen when she's gone?
1. Chapter 1

_**Day And Night - A Sepper story.**_

When you're born into a rancher's family; you really have no choice but to learn the ways. And trust me, it's no easy/glamorous life, either. Every day, snow, rain, or hail, you have to saddle up and ride out to the range. Once you've ran your eyes over the couple heads[_**1**_ of cattle about a thousand times, you have to ride along the barbwire fences and make sure there is no possible way that any cattle could get out. In the winter, you have to put out more hay - not only for the cattle, but for the horses, too -, you have to make sure none of the cattle are hurt or sick, and every once in awhile you have to kill some, too. In most ranchers' eyes, cattle are exactly that - animals that have no other reason of being on this green earth other than to provide money to feed the ranchers' families. Vets aren't considered for the cattle; if they're too sick or injured, then you kill them. That's that. And then you move on to another day.

In the summer - like it is now, for example - you have just as much, if not more, to do. Feed the horses. Move the cattle, if needed, to different pastures or areas so they can graze. Make sure they aren't sick; make sure they don't have worms. Brand the new cattle. Ride along and make sure the fences aren't broke or damaged and make sure the poles holding said fences up, are straight and not sagging. Give the dogs a bath when they go out and roll in something dead. Do the regular chores. Make sure the horses have their excercise they need.

I, Samantha Forster, have a lot more chores and worries now than I did when I was younger. At sixteen - soon to be seventeen -, my dad has decided that he wants me to know how to run the ranch. Since he's "not getting any younger", I know that one day I'll have to take over most of the chores from my dad and Dallas, and one day, the whole ranch. I know I'll have Bryanna's help, and, hopefully, Ross and Pepper's too. _Certainly_ Jake's, since he seems to have no dreams of letting me out of his sight for the next couple of years - possibly not ever. I'll probably be ninety and he'll _still_ be telling me how to do things. But, still, taking on such a job is a bit intimidating. For me, anyway.

But, that's probably in the far future. Right now, in the present, I'm currently hanging up the newly cleaned - vaccumed, really - saddle pads. Cougar - now three years old and hardly a kitten anymore - is sitting on the door of one of the old, unused stalls, watching me with keen, narrow eyes. Nanuk, a German Shepherd Dog that I found abbanoned on the side of the road one day, was lying at my feet with his head on his paws. Snoozing away, most likely. But I knew that as soon as I moved towards the door of the barn, he'll jump up and follow at my heels like the good, loyal boy he is. I smiled as I put away the last blanket and moved towards Cougar to scratch him behind the ears. He allowed it, but he glared at me. Ever since he had grown out of his cute kittenhood he had been unbelievably unsociable.

I glanced out into the ranch yard. School had let out a few days ago, and it was only now just warming up in Nevada. Usually it was warmer than this, usually it was already hot and sweltering; but not this year. Not in 2008.

Sarah Buxton's One Of Those Days played in the stereo on an upturned, cloudy gray crate. She was a country singer, even though sometimes she did sing a pretty high pitch that made Sam wince. Listening to the flowing lyrics, Sam leaned against the doorway and sighed softly. There was a slight breeze today that played idily with Sam's bangs that had escaped from her tightly-pulled ponytail. She wore a T-shirt that wasn't baggy enough to be a nuisance, but where it wasn't tight. Faded blue jeans hung on her hips, accompied by an brown belt with a belt buckle ((a present from Jake last Christmas)) that had the painted image of wild horses running across the Nevadan deserts. Aparrently, there was a guy in town who painted belt buckles and sold them, and Jake knew him. He still wouldn't tell her who the guy was, though. Just to be the irratating cowboy he was.

"Sam?"

Sam turned towards the house upon hearing her dad's voice. Wyatt stood leaning against a sturdy rocking chair that resided on the porch.

"Could I speak to you for a minute?"

**-----------xxAuthoress Notes && Footnotes-----**

**[1 "Heads" of cattle: **_This is a term that stands for a "group" of cattle. Like a "pack" of wolves, a "herd" of horses, a "flock" of birds. You get the picture. _

Well, HERE! A Sepper story! Now be HAPPY!

Haha, joking. I just wrote this up and thought I'd post it - I have a plot bunny in my head for a Sam x Pepper story and this is the start of it. Yeah, it's short. But I'll start on the second chapter next and on and on. I'll also be working on the fourteenth ((I think?)) chapter of Viruses And Romances. Dunno when that'll be up, though. Jake is being stubborn and I can hardly think of any good dialogue between him and Sam. Which is FRUSTRATING because I really wanna get to writing that story again!

Anyway, now it's YOUR turn! You can't just drive me nuts with requests for a Sepper and then not review, you know! Hehe. But yeah, I'll be checking on this story every once and awhile and awaiting reviews. I love /every/ review I get, no matter how long or short! It can even be one word, if you really want to. xD Anyway. I'll stop blabbering now and get to writing on the second chapter.


	2. Airplanes & Goodbyes

**Day && Night - Two. **

Nanuk leaped to his feet, his tail wagging happily as he trotted at his owner's heels towards the house. He wasn't completely German Shepherd; when Sam had taken him to the vet he had told them that Nanuk was probably a German Shepherd x Husky cross; which would explain the broad chest and soft, silky fur, even though he had all of the GSD markings. His paws were pretty much huge, with a tan body color with a black spot on his back, with black splattered over his hindquarters as if someone had spilled ink. His ears were erect with curiosity, even though he could feel Sam's tension as he heeled and leaned against her leg as she walked.

Sam reached down and laid her hand between his shoulder blades, pausing as she opened the screen door of their house. Nanuk paused only briefly before he pushed his way past Sam into the kitchen, stopping to look back at Sam to make sure he wouldn't get in trouble for being in there. When Sam didn't move to scold him, he wagged his tail and plodded towards the living room, where the sounds of giggling could be heard. Cody was three years old now, and he could talk a bit. Most of it was nothing Sam could understand, but she was learning. Bryanna, oddly, seemed to have no trouble understanding what the toddler wanted and when he wanted it.

Wyatt was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs, and when he motioned to her, she did the same.

The minutes passed as Sam waited for her dad to say something, even though she knew better. Unless it was about the cattle or something ranch-related, Wyatt usually had nothing to say, and he certainly wasn't going to start the conversation along. Sam decided that she'd just start, then. She didn't see the point of beating around the bush.

"So, dad, what's up?"

Wyatt made an uncomfortable noise. "Well, I kind of wanted to talk to you about something. Your Aunt called a few days ago, and she's moving to a new neighborhood in San Francisco, since the place she's living in is shutting down for repair or something." Wyatt made a face; clearly thinking the notion was ridiculous. Sam smiled softly, but inside she was wondering where this was going. Sure, she was interested in what was going on with her aunt, but why was Wyatt telling her this?

"And she has some friends who want to help her move all of her stuff, but they're elderly and, well...they really wouldn't be much help. She _needs_ someone to help her."

((**Authoress Note: i've noticed that I keep switching from first person to third without noticing it, so I'm going to be, hopefully, doing the rest of it in one first person. Just letting you know.))**

And that's when it dawned on me. I might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but I knew how to take a hint. With the way Dad was choosing his words so carefully while giving me that look, I didn't know how anyone could _miss_ it. I swallowed hard, wondering what I might have done that might have gotten me on Dad's bad side. My grades have mostly been good all school year...except math I haven't been doing too well in, but why would he wait until _now_ to make me pay attention to math? School was over for the summer.

"You want me to go back to San Francisco." I said slowly.

"Now, before you let that overactive imagination of yours run away with you," Wyatt said hastily. "Only for a few weeks. Your aunt needs you more than we do right now, and I was thinking that you might like to help out your aunt and hang out with your old friends for awhile. Then you could come back right in time for the cattle drive, help Bryanna with Cody, and get some more training done with Tempest. We have a lot of work to do this summer, and I just thought you might like some down time before then..." He shrugged. "If you don't want to; fine."

I lifted an eyebrow. "You mean...you're giving me a choice?"

He nodded. "Yes. I've learned my lesson; I'm not sending you anywhere you don't want to go."

My mind jumped back to when Dad had sent me to San Francisco with _no_ say whatsoever. Well, this was a change.

I glanced down at the dog that was lying on my feet. "What about Nanuk?"

Nanuk, as I soon had learned, had a bad case of Separation Anxiety. And by Separation Anxiety, I mean stark-raving nuts when left alone. When Nanuk learned to trust me completely, when I left for school, when I got home everything was pretty much in ruins. The food and water bowl I had left for him out on the porch was overturned, the chickens were scared half to death and were in hiding, and Gram had no idea what to do with him. When Nanuk had saw I was home for the rest of the day, the storm was over as soon as it had came, and he had plopped down on my bed.

After that I had took Nanuk with me to school, and tied him to the bike rack when I was in class. Between classes, no matter if I had half an hour or one minute to get to the next, I came out and spent all the time possible with him. I didn't now, of course, but the last couple months of school I had just left Nanuk with Pepper. After a few crazy fits, Pepper had calmed Nanuk down and Nanuk was then satisfied to spend his time with the cowboy until his owner came home. Nanuk knew by now that every time I left, that I'd come back a few mere hours later. But for a couple of weeks? I knew Nanuk would never calm down, no matter if Pepper worked him hard or not.

Dad glanced down at him, too. "Take him with you. I already talked to her about it." He glanced back up at me. "So, what do you say? Go or stay?"

I considered it. I'd miss everyone here, of course, especially Jen and Pepper. But I owed it to my Aunt, didn't I? She had been dumped with me and my sullen moods when Dad had sent me away, and she never once got cross with me. And I missed Pam and Das, the two best friends I had in San Francisco. Pam and I were still pen paling over mail, but it would be nice to see her again. And, even more, it would be a great chance to socialize Nanuk, since he was still pretty shy around other people who didn't live on Riverbend.

And then, of course, there was The Look. That Dad was giving me. I'm sure you've received it at least once in your life - the look that clearly says, 'I'm trusting you to be responsible and do the right thing,' yadda yadda.

I sighed. "Okay. I'll go."

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I had a horrible sense of Deja Vu as I walked through the doors of the airport, sporting two bags and Nanuk on his bright red leash. He seemed confused by the entire bustle of the people around us, and he tilted his ears back as he leaned heavily against my legs in a attempt to try and avoid being brushed up against. It made it a bit hard to walk with his extra weight against me, but I understood. Nanuk had took long enough to trust me, and I was sure if I had been dumped by the side of the road as a puppy, left to starve, I'd be a bit wary of people, too.

"It's alright, boy. Let's just..." I hesitated. Luckily, I was saved.

"Parked the truck." Pepper said cheerily, slinging an arm around my shoulders. Before Jake had left for College, I had seen him nod at Pepper briefly, for Pepper to nod right back. I guess Jake had just assigned Pepper to be my new supervisor/guard dog, but Pepper was way more than that. He was my best friend, and he wasn't as strict as Jake was; he let me do my own thing while keeping an eye on me from the distance. He was also easy to be around, constantly brightening my day with his joking manner.

"Great," I said, smiling. I was trying to be positive.

Pepper seemed to sense this, but when he opened his mouth to say something, he was drowned out by another voice.

"Sam!" Jen said excitedly, running over to us. She hadn't changed much; she was still wearing her glasses in an owlish way, and her natural blond hair was pulled back into a neat braid. She was an older Jen, but still Jen nevertheless. She seemed to have a glow about her that never really stopped: I assumed it was because in two years she'd own a part of her family's ranch. Ryan seemed to add to her glow; she seemed to be glued to his side whenever I saw the two together. A match made in heaven, I though with a smile.

However, Ryan wasn't here so she had no side to be glued to, so she had no trouble pouncing on me and engulfing me in a rib-crushing hug. Pepper chuckled.

"I was scared I had missed your flight! I lost track of time and then the stupid _truck_ wouldn't start. Dad had to come out and thump on the motor, the ignorant thing, serve it right." Jen huffed, only then letting go of me and stepping back. I smiled; glad to have my two best friends with me. Well, three, I corrected myself as I saw Nanuk nudging Jen's hand, demanding to be petted.

Admittedly, I _did_ miss Jake, but having Pepper and Jen as my two best friends ((who didn't bicker with each other like Jen and Jake did)) was the next best thing. I just wished that I could pack all three of them into one big bag and haul them to San Francisco with me.

"I'll miss you." Jen said somberly, sighing. "It won't be the same without you. Whom am I supposed to _ride_ with from now on?"

I grinned. "It's only for a few weeks. And, ride with Ryan!"

"Not the same." Jen said, so mournfully we couldn't help but giggle. Pepper rolled his eyes in a playful manner.

_"All passengers waiting for flight eight, from Reno to San Francisco, please get ready to board now."_

I sighed, suddenly not wanting to go at all.

"That's your flight. Better get going." Pepper said, nodding towards the desk. I nodded, knowing this, but I couldn't help throwing my arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.


	3. Aiports & Introductions

**Day And Night **

**"Passengers, please buckle your seatbelts. We will be landing soon."**

Startled, I jerked out of my peaceful doze and blinked. As my brain slowly processed the words that had been spoken, there was a series of _clicks_ as seatbelts were fastened. I hurried to do the same, fumbling with it for a moment before clicking it firmly into place.

My hand unconsciously curled, and I wished Nanuk were lying across my lap like he always was. I wished I could run my hand through his soft fur and scratch him behind the ears. But I couldn't; Nanuk was in a crate on the section of the plane that stored the animals that the passengers' had brought along. Still, I thought as I glanced out my window, I would be seeing Nanuk very, very soon.

A flight attendant walked slowly down the aisle, looking right and left to check that everyone had their seatbelts buckled. When she glanced at me she smiled reassuringly, and I smiled back, before she spotted a man who was asleep and had not buckled his seatbelt and quickly moved down the aisle. I sighed softly and brushed my bangs out of my eyes - I had let my hair down today instead of wearing it in a ponytail.

I was surprised at how smooth the plane landed; the breaks didn't screech and the plane didn't tremor as I had expected it would. It was quite sunny in San Francisco, and not to mention _busy_. I had forgotten how many people actually lived in SF, but I swallowed down the so-small feeling that I had, comforted by the fact that Nanuk would be by my side shortly. I ignored the bustle of people standing up and heading down the aisle towards the door, got up, and made my way towards the front. A few inpatient people, and one person who looked quite green jostled me, but most people paid me no attention and continued on their way.

I looked around me as I stepped off the plane and went inside the airport. My eyes scanned for anyone who looked even remotely familiar. The airport was full of faces I didn't recognize, and even some people holding signs. I knew my Aunt probably wouldn't bother with signs, especially not if she had arthritis, so I continued to walk through the bustling crowds in search of anyone who looked familiar. I perked as a thought hit me - what if Pam was here, too? I couldn't wait to see her.

After a few minutes of standing awkwardly, I decided that I'd go pick up my luggage and Nanuk. Maybe she'd show up then.

---------- x --------- x -------------- x ------------ x ------------------------- x ---------------

"Samantha Forster?"

I whirled, startled, and Nanuk growled. Behind me stood a tall boy around 17-18, looking at me expectantly. He has dusty brown hair that was cropped short to his neck, wearing a black T-shirt beneath a brown jacket and blue jeans. His skin was lightly tanned, and I could see no scars on his hands.

"Maybe." I said, cautious.

He grinned, flashing pearly-white teeth as he dug around in his back pocket, and brought out a small picture. Wordlessly, he handed it to me.

It was a picture of Tempest; a few weeks after she was weaned I had taken her out into one of the pastures and took a few pictures of her. This particular picture was of her lying down as the sunshine poured over her; I had sent it to my Aunt. I lifted my eyebrows at the guy in front of me in a silent question.

"Your Aunt couldn't make it to the airport so she asked me to come and pick you up and take you to her apartment. She told me to give you that so you know that she really said that." He explained.

"Oh." I said, blushing slightly for being so suspicious. Still, I had been going by instinct; my Aunt had drilled it into my head over and over that SF could never be completely safe, and that you had to be on guard. "Sorry."

He laughed. "No problem. I'm John, by the way." He held his hand out. I shook it.

"Sam." I replied. "Although you already know that."

John smiled. "If you've got your dog and your baggage ready, then we can go see your Aunt. She seems excited to see you."

I nodded and, making sure Nanuk's leash was tight around my wrist, I followed John out of the airport towards a black SUV; it has a truck-like flat-bed on the back where my baggage and Nanuk could ride. I slung my packs in the back and snapped my fingers. Nanuk jumped, scrambled for a moment over the brown boards until his nails got a hold, and then leaped over my luggage and settled down towards the front of the flatbed. John grinned before he held open the passenger door for me and waved a hand at the passenger seat. I blushed, mumbled something remotely close to a "thank you", and climbed in. John gently shut the door and walked around to the other side and started the SUV, which purred to life. I was surprised at how quiet it was for something so big.

We made polite conversation on the way to my Aunt's; he asked me how the flight was and I asked him where he had acquired the SUV. I was so used to talking to shy, quiet cowboys on Riverbend that I enjoyed the pointless talks we were having.

"So, you live on a ranch." John said conversationally as he switched lanes smoothly on the noisy, busy road.

"Riverbend, yeah." I replied, glancing in the rear view mirror for a glance at Nanuk. I had expected him to be anxious at all of the loud noises, some he had never heard before, but he was happily sticking his head over the side of the boards with his tongue hanging out. I smiled.

"Boyfriend?"

I raised my eyebrows, but John just smiled as he kept his eyes skillfully on the road as he pushed down on the gas and the SUV rolled forward smoothly in the herd of fighting-for-position vehicles.

"Not really, no."

"Anyone you have your eye on, then?"

I thought about it; truth be told that was usually the topic that was the _last_ thing on my mind when I was working on the ranch, if it even existed at all.

"Nope." I said cheerily.


	4. Arrival

"Here we are."

I glanced out the window of the SUV and saw a blue house, presumably the one my aunt was going to move into it. It was pretty bland on the outside, excluding the pretty house and the already green lawn. There was a stone pathway down the middle so that the lawn wouldn't get smashed down, although there was no fence. There was another house, a bright brown one, a ways off and another house, faded yellow, in the opposite direction by a couple of yards. Okay, that was good. At least the houses weren't cramped together. But I would definitely have to do something about putting up a fence for Nanuk. Though he ran free around the ranch back home, this was a new, unfamiliar place and I didn't know what he might do.

"Thanks for the ride." I told John, un buckling the seatbelt and sliding out of the SUV. John nodded, flashing me a smile, and I shut the door. John waited patiently as I went and clipped the leash onto Nanuk's blue harness. I considered getting a new one but dismissed the thought. On the harness Gram had took a white thread and written Riverbend's phone number, my name, and then Nanuk's. After one time after I had given him a bath and hadn't put his harness back on, he had escaped outside and went for a "walk". Maxine had called me about and hour after I came back to the house, tired and sore, searching for him. After that, he always had some sort of identification.

Nanuk jumped over the sides of the flatbed and hit the ground gracefully, his tail curling as he sniffed the ground. I unloaded my few bags, and waved goodbye to John and he waved a hand in returned before he slowly turned back onto the main road and then disappeared out of sight.

"Samantha!" Aunt Sue said, walking out of the door of the house and engulfing me in a hug. Awkwardly trying to keep my hand firm on Nanuk's leash, who was not moving one inch to make it easier, and hugging my Aunt at the same time, I managed.

"It's so good to see you again!" Aunt Sue said, releasing me. "And I take it this is Nanuk?"

"Yep." I said, glancing down at him. He was looking at me, confused, as if saying, "What the heck are we doing here? I don't see any sagebrush at all!" I smiled at his expression and scratched him behind the ears. He let out a doggy-dog sigh and leaned against me.

"Well, come in! You're probably tired from your flight and there's a certain some one who wants to see you."

I didn't need to guess, because as soon as I stepped over the threshold I heard the squeal of delight as Pam tackled me. I laughed and dropped Nanuk's leash as I heard the door close behind me.

"You're finally here! God, it's been ages since I've saw you." Pam said, a light in her eyes.

I smiled. "I know. But I'm here now."

"Come on," Pam said, tugging at my hand. "I'll show you your room and you can tell me all about _everything_ while you unpack."

I smiled at her enthusiasm, but bent down to unclip Nanuk's leash and hang it on a hat-hanger by the door. I then picked up my bags and walked slowly to avoid being tripped by Nanuk, who followed behind closely. His ears were slightly laid back, and he had "the look" on his face.

"I will," I said to Pam. "But first Nanuk needs to go outside for a bit. Although I think he's doing relatively well, for being away from the ranch for the first time."

"I've been doing a bit of work in the backyard. I've put up some light fence - he could probably jump it if motivated but at least it's something - and washed some old carpet I got from a neighbor and put it out there to substitute for grass. It isn't much, but it'll work for awhile."

I nodded. "But, I don't know. What would be the point to build a fence and what not when we're only staying for a few weeks?" I asked.

Aunt Sue smiled. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe Nanuk will convince me to get a dog. Maybe." She added, at my smile. It would be good for her to get a dog, instead of being here by herself.

I tossed my bags on the bed in the spare room - now my temporary room - and then lead Nanuk towards the back door. He followed me across the threshold and into the backyard without hesitation, though he did look a bit confused. Nanuk seemed to get over it, however, and started sniffing.

When my Aunt said that Nanuk could jump it if he wanted to, she was serious. The "fence" that was up was designed for an garden bed, which was about a foot at the highest. There was a couple of slabs of carpet laid down, and other than there was damp dirt. It would work for now, but I was going to have to keep a strict eye on Nanuk when he was outside.

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"So, tell me everything. Starting with whether or not you've hooked up with him yet."

The digital red clock on the night stand read eight o' clock, and we (Pam, Nanuk and I) were lying on top of my neatly-made bed. Nanuk was snuggled up, lying across my feet as he snoozed. Most of my bags were unpacked, and in a neat pile lay Nanuk's toys in a corner. Absentmindedly flipping through my photo book, I glanced up at Pam.

"What? Who?" I asked, confused.

Pam rolled her eyes, flopping over on her stomach so she could lie beside me as she looked at the picture of Hammer, the beautiful "run-away" horse. "You know who!" At my still confused look, she sighed patiently. "That...cowboy. Jack, or something."

"Jake?"

She nodded. "Yep. Him."

I blushed, looking back at the photo album and turning a page. "Of course not. Besides, he's off at college anyway. Majoring in Animal Behavior."

Pam glared at me. "College? There is _no_ way you mentioned that he was that old."

I laughed. I hadn't really thought of Jake being "that old"; to me, in a way, he was still the ten-year-old kid who liked to tease me mercilessly. I guess I hadn't really gotten my head around that Jake was nineteen, soon to be twenty, and off at college.

"Didn't I? Hmm." I said playfully.

Pam sighed. "Oh well, probably knew it wasn't going to happen anyway. However, the way that the redhead looked at you..."

Pepper and me were the only redheads on the ranch. "Pepper? You're kidding me."

Pam gave me a look.

"You have a one-track mind tonight, you know that? Besides, I haven't had time for anyone else besides the animals most of this time. Not with between training Nanuk and Tempest and then keeping Ace fit..."

"Where'd you get Nanuk, anyway?" Pam asked, leaning towards him to pet him behind his erected ears. "He's so cute."

As the conversation trailed on to other topics and other people, I felt my mind wandering back to Riverbend. Gram would probably be doing dishes. Bryanna would be curled up on the couch with Cody. Dad would be doing some thing or other, like cleaning his boots while Dallas played the guitar. Pepper would probably be with Ross in the bunkhouse, talking horses.

What Pam had said about Pepper didn't leave my mind, but I had no more room in my cluttered head to focus on it for too long. Soon enough I was sprawled out, fully dressed, on the bed and snoozing away.


End file.
